The digital yuan (e-CNY) will be one of three available payment options in the Olympic Village.
Foreign visitors will be able to use the digital yuan (e-CNY) within the Olympic Village, Bloomberg reported citing the People’s Bank of China. In addition, payment for goods and services via Alipay and WeChat Pay is restricted at the village. Cash, the digital yuan, and Visa cards will be the only payment options.
Members of sports delegations will receive special bracelets with built-in hardware wallets for the digital yuan. Also, all event attendees at the 2022 Winter Olympics will download a digital wallet or use a physical card holding the e-CNY.
All commercial facilities in both the Olympic Village and the Beijing and Hebei areas where Olympic events are planned are already equipped to accept digital yuan payments.
Meanwhile, the digital yuan wallet, a pilot version of which recently became available in digital stores, became the most downloaded app in China, despite its limited geography and usability. This is reported by the South China Morning Post. CNBC specifies that Alipay and WeChat Pay are cooperating with the developers of the e-CNY and are already working on services to make digital yuan payments on their platforms despite all restrictions.
